Jordan from the MKFM Street Team went to try out the Christmas menu at the Mercure Hotel in Milton Keynes, and here is his review...
As anyone who knows me would tell you, I love food. I am a self-proclaimed food fan, you could say! Knowing that, when MKFM offered me the opportunity to visit the Mercure Hotel in Milton Keynes (just off the Stacey Bushes/Two Mile Ash junction of the A5, second exit) to taste their Christmas menu.
On arriving to the Mercure Hotel, my Fiancee, Hannah, and I, were delighted to find a delicious aroma permeating across the car park- It was lovely. To the point where the first words out of Hannah’s mouth were “God, that smells delicious”. Direct quote there.
I took a few photos outside of the hotel of their seasonal festive lighting around the structure at the front of the building, followed swiftly by a rather lovely looking Christmas tree, it really did get me in the festive mood. Upon entering the Mercure hotel, you are greeted by a welcoming and warm atmosphere, with wing back chairs and sofas that look like a modern take on the classic seating arrangement. Take a left and walk down to the stairs, lined with festive garlands, and continue through the bar and you reach the restaurant.
We were greeted by a lovely waitress, who, after I fumbled on getting my words out to explain that I was here for a food review, treated us with the most care and attention I could imagine. She guided us to our table, which was located next to the window overlooking the hotels outdoor seating area with fences lined with fairy lights and big bulbed festive lighting zigzagging above the area, and gave us our Christmas menu.
The atmosphere was fantastic, the music was subtle enough that you could hear it but also not too loud that it was overbearing to have a conversation, the perfect mix in my eyes (or ears, I guess). Around us other diners were tucking into their fish and chips and burgers (which are also on the menu, but not the Christmas one) and again, the smell was fantastic.
We chose our food, I went with the Salmon and Prawns for a starter and chose the Traditional roast turkey for a main, while Hannah had the chicken liver and cognac pate for starter and Slow cooked roast beef for her main.
The starters arrived and we got the picture taking out of the way, then we tucked in. I was pleased with the overall presentation of the starters, it looked like a lot of care and attention had gone into the design and layout of it all. Prawns on a layer of salmon, garnished with Frisee salad and lemon zest, with drops of tartar sauce in four corners of the plate. Hannah's was equally well presented, with pate, sourdough toasted bread, garnished with frisee salad and spiced fruit chutney.
The mains arrived after and we were blown away by the portion sizes. I use the phrase ‘Most amount of food for the least amount of money’ in my day to day life, whether you take this as me being cheap or frugal or brilliant is up to you, but this meal ticked all the right boxes for me.
Again, a lot of attention had been put into the layout of the dish, on both plates, the roast potatoes were huge, the carrot and parsnip deliciously soft and roasted. The Brussel sprouts were a bit harder than I was used to, but this is no criticism on the part of the restaurant, more on my mums Christmas dinner for doing them too soft for my liking (sorry mum I do love your Christmas dinner I promise).
Hannah's dish was the same, except with the most obvious difference, the giant Yorkshire pudding on top of hers. My fiancee, luckily for me, is only ever able to eat a small plate for food, meaning that I usually get double dinners, this meal was no exception! We halved the Yorkshire so I could give it a try as well and it was fantastic. This isn’t your aunt Bessies yorkie pud, this is a homemade treat to the tastebuds.
My turkey was lovely and moist, Hannahs slow cooked beef melted in your mouth (something she had never even had before, unlike me where the slow cooker was a staple of the kitchen because it was easy to cook a chicken all day while mum was at work, much to my disappointment, again, love you mum). And then stuffing ball was also delicious.
Our plates where cleared and we were treated to the dessert menu, I was going to go with the Belgium mint chocolate teardrop and Hannah was going with the seasonal cut fresh fruit. However, due to the sheer portion sizes of our mains (and the fact that I had also finished off Hannahs plate due to small stomach) we both didn’t actually have any room left in us the fill our stomachs with, what I can imagine, would be a delicious afters.
The entire experience of the meal, hotel and its staff is one I really enjoyed. By the time we were leaving the function room was host to a Christmas party, which they all looked like they were enjoying their drinks and food, and the bar was relatively busy.
A big thank you to MKFM for giving us both the opportunity and to the Mercure Hotel for providing such a lovely meal and experience.
